Category: Beverages

Marketing Sake to Age-of-Majority Japanese Youth: A Consultation with the AI Era’s Delphic Oracle

Consulting the Oracle, John William Waterhouse Towards the end of last year we wrote the following in a private correspondence. Being passionate about sake is also linked to a concern about the future prosperity of Japan and the survival of things Japanese. This is especially important today given the devastating effect that globalization has had … Continue reading Marketing Sake to Age-of-Majority Japanese Youth: A Consultation with the AI Era’s Delphic Oracle →

Tone Nishiki Shiboritate Nama Genshu (利根錦 しぼりたて生原酒): Of Glassware, Sake Label Art, and Roaring Mice

It is not often that we just happen to find a sake bottle with label art that perfectly matches our glassware, but that is what happened when we stumbled upon—no that’s not appropriate here—ran into—no that won’t do, either—encountered—yeah, yeah, that’s it—this Gunma-ken nigorizake which, according to one of our sources, is from the smallest … Continue reading Tone Nishiki Shiboritate Nama Genshu (利根錦 しぼりたて生原酒): Of Glassware, Sake Label Art, and Roaring Mice →

Kikunotsukasa Shuzo (菊の司酒造): Innocent 40

Not too long ago we were in Iwate Prefecture, where we missed this gem. Fortunately, we picked up a bottle of Kikunotsukasa’s Innocent 40, “a non-filtered, non-pasteurized, non-hydrated,” high-end daiginjo sake, with 14% abv. Forty refers to the rice polishing rate or seimaibuai (精米歩合). Contributing to the Iwate influence, terroir, if you will, are Yui … Continue reading Kikunotsukasa Shuzo (菊の司酒造): Innocent 40 →

Significant Encounters at Expat Expo Part 2: The Story of Sake, Ltd.

As mentioned in last week’s posting, Expat Expo was held on November 25-26, 2022, at Hamamatsucho-kan, Minato Ward, Tokyo. Our second significant encounter thereat was with Mr. Yuki Ojima, a Japanese fluent in English who runs a business that we believe is poised to meet what will probably become a growing demand. Simply put, there … Continue reading Significant Encounters at Expat Expo Part 2: The Story of Sake, Ltd. →

Significant Encounters at Expat Expo Tokyo 2022 Part 1: Asahi-Shuzo (朝日酒造), Makers of Kubota

Expat Expo was held on November 25-26, 2022, at Hamamatsucho-kan, Minato Ward, Tokyo. It, along with the concomitant International Job Fair, attracted 2,917 people and featured 182 exhibitors. We attended last year’s Expo and based on our experience in 2021 decided to return this year. Needless to say, which of course is needless to say, … Continue reading Significant Encounters at Expat Expo Tokyo 2022 Part 1: Asahi-Shuzo (朝日酒造), Makers of Kubota →